Fifa Council member Kohzo Tashima intends to stand for president of global football’s governing body against incumbent Gianni Infantino, Japanese media reported on Thursday following a meeting of the national federation.
Tashima represents the first serious challenger to Infantino to emerge since the Fifa leader provoked a furore in the football world in July with a proposal to sell stakes in future World Cup profits to private investors.
Japanese newspaper Asahi reported that Tashima declared his intention to run in next March's election, with board members of Japan's soccer federation, the JFA, unanimously agreeing to back him. The news was also carried by sports newspaper Nikkan Sports.
"I am grateful that I can make this announcement with the full support of the JFA," Tashima said.
"It's not about winning or losing but about conveying to the world the honest, sound and upright attitude that Japanese football has built. What Fifa needs now are these values that we have protected. I have decided to run in order to make this appeal to the world."
The 68-year-old Tashima, a former Japan national team player and honorary federation president, has sat on Fifa’s ruling committee since 2015, when Sepp Blatter was president.
Tashima holds a reputation as a respected, diplomatic and low-profile official within football politics politics.
Prospective candidates require formal endorsement from five of Fifa’s 211 member federations, who will cast their votes on March 18 in Rabat, Morocco. Entrants must also clear an eligibility review by a three-member panel appointed by Fifa.
This is not the first time that Japan has opposed the rule of Infantino as just last week their football association vice president Takeshi Okada resigned from his position, citing controversies around this year’s World Cup that were a “significant divergence” from his personal beliefs about sporting integrity.
Japan is also certainly not the only opposition to Infantino’s re-election as European governing body, Uefa, has also been leading efforts to find a candidate to challenge Infantino prior to a Nov. 18 deadline to enter the race.
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